Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men
by AlbusSeverusGryffindor
Summary: AU from SS. Oct. 31, 1981 was a night that changed history. When 1 year old Harry Potter was killed the Light lost it's best hope for victory. But their warrior was not lost. A new Prophecy, a reincarnated soul and a young boy with the power to save all.
1. Prologue

_**Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men**_

_**By A.S. Gryffindor**_

**Author's note: **Yet another story whose plot hit me over the head in the middle of sewing.

**Full Summary: **An AU Harry Potter fanfiction. It all began on October 31, 1981. Events were set in motion that would have far reaching consequences for the Wizarding World. Young Harry Potter and his family are murdered on that cold Halloween night leaving the wizarding world without it's savior and the Light without it's Chosen One. But Fate does not leave them without a Warrior to stand in this time of Darkness. A new Prophecy, a new 'Chosen One', a reincarnated soul, and a power that could save the world. Hope lays in the hands of a child whose powers rival the Dark Lord's himself.

**Prologue: 31 October 1981**

_"Your name upon the standing stone/Love invites one last call/When death from life begins to fall"-Lament_

The darkness of the night seemed oppressive to the family living in hiding in the small two floor cottage on Godric's Lane. It was Hallows Eve but the young couple and their one year old son took no heed of the holiday nor of the variously costumed Muggles that were parading up and down the street despite the stifling darkness and the chill it brought. The clouds overhead continually obscured and revealed the moon overhead and there was a chill wind blowing through the bushes that surrounded the house. Leaves tumbled down the street and the walkway before the house sounding almost like a cloak brushing against the cobblestones of the walkway.

James Potter's head snapped up at the sound from where he sat on the floor playing with his son, Harry. After a few moments of tense silence he resumed playing with the young child. The firelight glinted off his glasses as he pushed them back in place and smiled at Harry. Bubbles once more began to float gently toward the giggling child who reached out chubby baby hands toward them, wanting to catch them. His laughter increased when one of the bubbles he touched exploded into a shower of silver and gold sparks, which fell around him. James laughed with his son though that laughter did not reach his hazel eyes. His eyes took in the small child who was now crawling toward him still laughing and his green eyes sparkling with mirth as he touched another bubble that exploded into glowing stars. He couldn't help the pang of sadness in his heart for the difficult life and task that lay before Harry.

"Why him? Why our son? How can he be the only one who can stop the Dark Lord? He's just a child." James and Lily both had asked these questions a million times since learning of the Prophecy that tied their son to the Dark Lord's defeat but these were questions that had no real answers.

Harry had stopped crawling toward his father and he stared out the window for a moment, a frown marring his features before continuing toward him. For a moment there seemed to be a muted glow around around him but when James blinked it vanished. He could hear Lily coming from the kitchen to put Harry to bed for the night and a smile played at the corners of his mouth as his beautiful red-haired wife appeared around the corner. Lily looked down at both of them with a sad sort of smile on her face, twisting a lock of her bright red hair around her finger. James smiled at her and she came closer to the two of them wrapping her arms around herself. Something about the night was just wrong, something was out of place and it had her on edge. Harry, meanwhile, had reached his destination and sat staring up at his father. His face was solemn and he looked as if he was studying his father's features in order to commit the face to memory. He gave his father a small smile and took his hand.

"Be fine, Da. No worry. Dark go far away soon. Everyone safe."

James's eyes widened at the words and he looked up at Lily whose expressive green eyes looked both scared and shocked.

"James...," her voice was trembling slightly as she picked Harry up and looked him over.

James shrugged and got up, throwing his wand onto the couch. He stretched and tickled Harry, who laughed again. Stopping suddenly Harry once again looked toward the front window intently for a moment before wrapping his arms around his mother and yawning widely.

"Sleepy." He rubbed his eyes and yawned again.

He blinked sleepily at her and nuzzled into her robe, grabbing a handful of it in his small fist. His sleepy eyes watched her through a curtain of red hair, studying her features as he had his father's before. He closed his eyes a moment and felt his mother move, her long hair brushing against his cheek. He sighed in contentment and looked into her eyes that were so much like his own. He felt the love his parents had for him as it wrapped itself around him like a warm cloak making him even more sleepy.

"Love you, Mum," his voice was heavy with sleep but whatever else he was going to say was lost forever as the front door crashed inward sending splinters of wood and glass everywhere.

"Lily, take Harry and run! He's found us! Go!" James blocked his wife and son from the view of the Dark Wizards gathered in front of him, cursing as he remembered that his wand was in the living room.

James's voice was panicked but after a seconds hesitation Lily took the stairs two at a time, clutching Harry to her chest and shielding him with her body from the spells that were flying toward them. At the second landing she heard the words that stopped her heart and caused the hallway before her to dim. "Avada Kedavra." She heard James's body hit the stairs somewhere below her and it galvanized her into action again. She ran down the hall, tears streaming down her face until she reached the last door that lead to Harry's nursery.

"Not you too. Not you too. Mum will save and protect you, Harry. I will always protect you," she whispered over and over even as the hopelessness of the situation threatened to overwhelm her.

Harry's small fingers dug into her shoulder and he lifted one hand to gently brush the tears from his mother's cheek. "Have to go. Dark man leave soon. See, Mum."

Once more a light seemed to illuminate the child but Lily was not paying attention to it nor to her son's words as she laid Harry in his crib and levitated some boxes and furniture in front of the spelled door to bar it against Voldemort. She knew it wouldn't hold him off for long but it would give her enough time to set the protective charms around her son. This had to work. It simply had to. Harry was the only hope to defeat this monster. He must be protected at all cost. Voldemort must not be allowed to kill him, not here and not now. She would see to that even if she died herself. Better her than Harry. She waved her wand over him, muttering endless incantations fueled by her undying love for him and her belief that in the end the Light would triumph over the Dark. Before she could complete the final spell the nursery door and everything blocking it was blasted into nothingness. She flinched as if struck as the ward around the door was destroyed and the magic backlashed into her as the spell's creator but she found the strength to turn around and face her murderer, a hand on the crib behind her. She felt Harry's small hand on her's and her resolve to protect him even with her death strengthened even as fear shadowed her heart. She would willingly die to protect him if that's what it took.

Voldemort stood framed in broken doorway, his red eyes glinting the dimly lite room. He took in the tableau of the desperate mother and her young boy for a moment before his mouth twisted into a sneer and he pointed his wand at Lily. Her eyes widened and he savored the look of abject horror in them for a moment.

"Not, Harry. Please not Harry! Kill me instead, just have mercy on my son," she pleaded tears streaming down her face words that were half a prayer and half spell running through her head. _Please protect my son, that's all I ask. I would give my life for him, in exchange for his. Just save him. Protect him._"

His red eyes moved from her to the child who was watching him with eyes exactly like his mother's but with a curious absence of fear in them. Voldemort's eyes returned to Lily who in her panic was repeating her pleas for mercy and begging him to spare her only child. He flicked his wand between Harry and Lily for a moment pretending to think about which one to kill first. He watched the fear build within Lily's eyes with each pass of the wand near her son. The boy continued to watch him but if he was afraid there was no sign of it. Finally Voldemort smiled evilly at the child as he pointed the wand at his mother.

_"Please find somewhere he can grow up in safety away from all this strife, Spirit that guides magic. That is all I ask. Safety for my son."_

"Avada Kedavra," he hissed and green death flew toward Lily sounding like the rustling of a thousand wings. The Killing Curse illuminated her for a brief moment in it's ghastly glow before she fell limply to the floor before her son whose eyes widened slightly as he suddenly found himself outside of his crib and at his mother's side.

"Mum?" His voice was soft as he reached out to touch her hair for a moment. "Will end this."

When he looked up into the face of her murderer a single tear made it's way down his left cheek. His eyes seemed to blaze for a moment but if Voldemort noticed it he ignored it as nothing of consequence. The Dark Lord's cold laughter filled the room as he seemed to float toward Harry. Harry looked into the red eyes deeply for a moment then his gaze returned to his mother's still and tear-stained face. Somehow he knew what to do and he stood up holding the Dark Lord's gaze as Voldemort pointed his wand directly into Harry's face.

"Say goodbye, Harry Potter."

There was another flash of green light and an answering flash of red-gold light, then a second of complete and utter silence before an explosion rocked the cottage and the small house collapsed in on itself. Of the Dark Lord there was no sign beyond the empty black robes that lay pooled on the floor next to the bodies of a young mother and her son.

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Several hundred miles away in a small, isolated village of brick houses the cry of a newborn baby was heard as a midwife pulled a dark haired boy from his mother's womb and set about cleaning the child and wrapping him in a warming blanket before presenting him to his tired but joyful parents. The proud parents looked down on their newborn son and smiled as he blinked sleepily at them and then proceeded to fall asleep.

"Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Llewellyn. You have a fine and healthy son."

"We shall call him Galen. Galen Evan Lucas Llewellyn."

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**Author's note on the name meaning** Galen means C_alm_, Evan means Y_oung Warrior_, Lucas means B_ringing Light_, Llewellyn means _Leader_


	2. Chapter One

_**Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men**_

_**By A.S. Gryffindor**_

**Author's Note: **I do not own Harry Potter. He belongs to JKR and Warner Brothers. If there are any questions about happening in the story just put it in your review and I'll answer them.

_**Chapter One: Rebirth of Light**_

* * *

_"The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing" Edmund Burke_

* * *

_"Born and reborn in a time of darkness_

_Born on the Day of Death_

_Born as the infant Hero fell_

_The Chosen One shall rise again_

_Slain by Darkness and reborn into purest Light_

_He shall return in the hour of gravest need_

_Protected by his first mother's love_

_Granted the Power He knows not_

_The Light that has been kept hidden shall burn anew_

_The fused soul shall reveal it's powers_

_One the Shield, the other the Sword_

_They shall break the Dark Power at last_

_And Light shall be renewed again..."_

The silvery form of Sybil Trelawny fell back into the stone pensieve and Albus Dumbledore glared at the softly glowing silver substance with a frown. For the last several years he'd been trying to figure out the meaning of the Final Prophecy that the dying Seer had utter right before her death from wound sustained in the Third Battle of Hogsmead: a battle which had sent several hundred young witches and wizards to a premature grave. He looked around his study as if it could offer answers to the riddle but the room remained silent. He shook his head and sighed heavily before he rose and began pacing the room. Occasionally he would look out across the war ravaged Hogwarts grounds but for the most part his eyes looked at the threadbare and dusty rug under his feet. Everywhere he walked the eyes of former Headmasters and Headmistresses watched. They had not seen him so agitated since the night Voldemort had been reborn and the terror that the Infant Hero, Harry Potter had died defeating returned stronger than ever.

It had been seventeen long and difficult years since the night the Potter had died and the last ten has seen the return of Voldemort and the almost total destruction of much of the wizarding and muggle worlds in England. Only Hogwarts and one or two more isolated and protected villages remained safe and secure under various shields and protective charms.

"But how long before these few places fall as well?" Dumbledore wondered as he watched the sun setting in a blaze of red/gold light bathing the grounds before him in light. "Everyday we grow weaker and he stronger. Without the 'Chosen One' we have no chance; no hope at all. We needed you, Harry."

The despair of this fact almost overwhelmed him for he had loved Harry like the grandson he'd never been blessed with and Lily and James where like a daughter and son. Somewhere in the back of his mind he still blamed himself for not seeing to the Potter's protection, for not checking the wards daily like he'd promised to and for not seeing that Peter Pettigrew was the traitor within the Order's ranks. He returned to his chair and tried to calm himself though his despair was just as strong now as it had been the night the Potters died especially since the news from war front was not good. Almost half of the Light's remaining forces had just been involved in a pitched battle with a larger force of Death Eaters. There were heavy causalities this time and of the several hundred Light witches and wizards only about a third survived. Every since the return of Voldemort ten years ago, ever since the day that it had become clear that the Prophecy that once connected Harry Potter and Voldemort was not fulfilled, Dumbledore had been trying to keep up a brave front in public. He wanted to keep their hope alive even if his own had died long ago. He was the only one left alive that knew the full contents of that first prophecy and thus the only one who knew that their fight was ultimately hopeless. He had told no one of it at first figuring the terms of it had already been met on that fateful October night but when Voldemort was reborn he knew the truth. The Prophecy was active still. Now they were in their darkest hour and there was no hope, no miracle that would save them.

He put his head in his hands and wept. There was nothing he could to to defeat Voldemort. He could hold him off, yes, but never could he defeat the most powerful Dark Lord to ever exist. That was not his destiny. He had not been granted that power, only Harry had but he was dead as well. _"My fault, all my fault." _Even if they could find the one the Final Prophecy spoke of it would be to late. The child would have to be trained if he hadn't been already and there was a very real possibility that he that this child was long dead. Dumbledore sat with his head in his hands, lost in his own despair, long after the room had gone dark. He was totally unaware that hundreds of mile away under the protection of one of the few towns still intact the very person he was seeking was in fact very much alive and within him lay the very powers the forces of Light needed to win the war. Within him lay the soul of the first 'Chosen One'.

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Galen was running full tilt across the training field behind his parent's manor house, dodging spells and curses that were being flung at him from all directions. His blood was pumping loudly in his ears and he felt a surge of adrenaline move through him even as he rotated on the spot to fire silent spells back at his 'attackers' while also throwing up the strongest shield he had so that it covered him completely.

_"Stupify! Reducto! Lacarnum Inflamaria! Incarcerous! Lumos Maxima!"_

The five spells, all aimed in seperate directions, moved across the field at lightening speed. The first knocked down a man mid-cast and, as the man fell his partner tripped over his fallen body. The second caused the branch two more were standing on to disintegrate to dust causing them to fall to the ground winded. The third cause a bush three more were hiding behind to burst into controlled flames causing their spells to misfire and the wizards to retreat. The fourth bound two more who were going for a physical rather than a magical attack at his back and the fifth blinded three others completely while causing the rest to wince and squint at the sudden brightness.

Galen grinned and started to move again just as twin daggers impacted his shield and the magically enhanced blades weakened it enough to allow a simple Tripping Jinx to get through. Seconds later, Galen found himself in a Full Body Bind, looking up at the angry face of his primary war mage trainer, Alanna McDohl.

"Never let your guard down, Galen. Had I been an assassin you would be dead now," she growled at him as she released him from the spell and helped him to his feet. "You must be very aware of everything around you and you must never stay in one place to long otherwise your enemy will have the chance to strike."

"I know Master Alanna. Seems I've been training all my life. I can't remember a time when I didn't have a wand or weapon in my hand. Mother swears that the first words I uttered were a spell and that it shattered all the windows in the nursery." Galen sighed and began rebraiding his long, dark black hair, his brilliant purple eyes sparkling with energy.

Alanna chuckled at her student and smiled down at him. For a brief moment Galen thought he saw another woman standing there: a beautiful, red-haired woman with sad eyes who had haunted his dreams for all of his life but when he blinked the image was gone again. Galen sighed and sat down on the grass, studying the grounds before him.

"I just wish I knew what all this was about. I've been training all my life but I don't understand why it's so important for me to do so," he looked over at Alanna a moment before turning his gaze to the sky. "It's not as if anyone can attack me here."

Alanna looked down at her young student and then sat down on the ground next to him but said nothing to him. She knew the reasons for the training and the secret the Llewellyns were protecting, everyone who had contact with Galen did. Galen was a very special child, a very important and powerful child. The spirits of Light gathered to him like no other before him, draw by his pure heart and the strength of his Light magic. The power that dwelled within him was vast and his magic core was strong and unending. All this was possible because of the soul that had come to share his body. The soul of the slain Savior of the Wizarding World had blessed Galen with His touch and their twin souls made him stronger. The soul of Harry Potter dwelled with him though Galen was unaware of this fact. They could not afford to have him slip up and reveal this so they had never told him the full truth. He knew he was in training as a war mage and that his magic was the most powerful anyone in the village had ever seen. He knew about the wizarding war that was being fought in the world outside the magically shielded town he grew up in and that he would one day be called upon to join it. He also knew there was something different about him.

"You'll understand soon, Galen. Very soon."

Galen whipped his head around and gave her a piercing stare, his vibrant purple eyes, so unlike his parents dark ones, glowing with power. After a few minutes staring at his teacher he turned away again and looked at the clouds overhead. "Will it explain everything: the training, why I'm so powerful, the dreams and visions...," his voice trailed off at the mention of them.

For as long as Galen could remember he'd been having strange nightmares full of green flashing lights, the fluttering of what sounded like a thousand wings, a high, cold laugh, a woman's pleading voice and burning red eyes. No one had ever been able to explain them to him and whenever he had one or even mentioned them his parents' faces would pale and they would always divert his questions to something else. It had always frustrated him more than he cared to admit even to himself. Everyone around him knew something about it and could tell him but they had always kept silent no matter how often he'd asked about it. He leaned back in grass again and folded his arms under his head, staring up at the sky and watching the clouds as they moved across his field of vision. For a moment he saw the red-haired woman again and she seemed to be smiling and waving at him.

"Will it explain the Lady, Alanna?" His voice was tense with an emotion he could not put a name to. Having no other name for her, he had started calling her the Lady.

Alanna looked sideways at him. "Yes, it will all be explained to you. On your sixteenth birthday when the Llewellyns officially recognize you as their sole heir."

Galen sat up and gave her another piercing stare. "I thought you only had to declare someone Heir to a family if there were no other living, direct line blood heirs?"

Alanna shook her head. "Your case if different for reasons I can't tell you right now. You are the right born Heir to the Llewellyns but there is a complication. The rest will be explained to you in two days. Now I believe Master Lin is waiting for you."

Galen growled and muttered something about not living to see his sixteenth birthday because the potions master was going to poison him. Alanna laughed and clapped him on the back before pushing him toward the side door of the manor and his next lesson.

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Galen stood stiffly at the head of the table next to his father, Angus. His long, full silver robes and athletic build were a comforting presence to the older generation of Llewellyns whose line almost died out completely during the last war against Dark Lord Gridelwald. Galen longed for this formality to be over so that he could get out of his dress robes and into something more comfortable but he stood quietly without moving as was expected of him. His extended family and a few of his friends were gathered at the long, dark table in the Llewellyn's opulent dining room. Candles flickered along the walls, their light filling the room by a clever use of spelled mirrors even though it wasn't quit sunset. The room was decorated for Halloween with great glowing jack-o-lanterns laying in groups in corners with smaller ones on tables and the fireplace mantle. There were also live bats fluttering overhead and even smaller pumpkins floating there. Galen watch his mother, Kathryn, as she walked toward him carrying a small ornate box with the Llewellyn crest of a crossed sword and wand.

Angus motioned for silence and the large group stilled, though one or two of Galen's friends grinned at him. Angus glance up and down the table catching the eyes of all who were present. He smiled at him all and then looked over at Galen. Galen looked out over the group to but said nothing, his mind was occupied with other things. Sometime tonight he would finally understand. Sometime tonight he would finally know the truth.

"Tonight marks my son's sixteenth autumn. We have all watched him grow from a baby into the fine young man you see before you. Today is the day he becomes my Heir in Right and Truth."

Kathryn opened the box and withdrew from within it a silver signet ring with the Llewellyn family crest on it. She motioned Galen closer and placed the ring on the ring finger of his left hand. It glowed for a few moments recognizing him as the one true heir and then there was a cheer from the people gathered around him. He looked down at the ring a moment and then smiled at them all.

"Now, with that formality out of the way, let the festivities begin."

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Several hours later, very near the time of Galen's actual birth, he and his parents were sitting in his father's study, the party long over and the guest having returned to their homes. Complete silence enveloped the room as Galen stared into the fire, watching the dancing flames as if they knew what secrets were about to be revealed to him this night. His thoughts lingered on the dream he'd had last night. The beautiful but sad Lady and her equally sad Lord were speaking to him but he could not hear the words nor could he make them out.

"Galen?" his mother's soft voice snapped him out of his musings.

"I'm fine, Mother. Just thinking," she smiled gently at him and took his hand in hers looking deeply into his eyes.

"You gave always been an unusual child, Galen. I'm sure by now you've realised this."

He looked down at the lightening shaped birthmark on his left hand that was normally covered with a glove a moment and then at his father. He nodded and rubbed his hands together. "I've known that for awhile. Something has always been different about me."

"You are a very special young man," his father picked up the conversation. "From the moment you were born we knew this but it took a few years for us to realise just what that meant."

"You see the night you were born, the very minute you were born in fact, something happened. An event of such importance to the wizarding world..."

Galen looked between them, confusion written clearly on his face. "I know that was the night that Harry Potter died defeating the Dark Lord fulfilling the Prophecy that connected the two, but what does that have to do with me?"

Kathryn watched her son's face and wondered what was going on behind those expressive eyes that had darkened to a deep purple. She was still unsure whether they should tell him what they'd been told years ago but she'd also always known they would have to tell him someday.

"Let's start at the beginning," Angus gestured at his wife who took a seat next to him with Galen facing them.

"The night you were born Harry Potter and his parents were killed by Lord Voldemort in a bid for power. It was said that young Harry was destined to be the only one who could defeat the Dark Lord. When he died it was believed that the terms of the Prophecy he was under had been met for Voldemort himself was also slain."

Galen nodded and his mother continued the thread of the story.

"But the terms had not been fulfilled at that time for Voldemort was not dead but merely exiled for a time. After seven years of peace he returned and to protect you we went into hiding here at Ashgrove."

Galen well remembered the move. It had caused him great pain to leave the mountains and fields of his first home and all the friends he'd had there.

"We knew then that we had to protect you at all cost for if the Dark Lord knew of your existence he would no doubt attempt to kill you as well."

Galen's eyebrows disappeared into his fringe and he blinked slowly, surprise and confusion warring in his face. Kathryn looked at her son and shifted her vision so that she could see his magical aura. The red/gold light pulsed strongly and quietly around him seeming to illuminate him from within, casting his face into sharp relief. It was the same light she'd seen as he was born and which had flown over her head as she lay there panting for breath. This same light had settled itself over and around her still and silent newborn child as he lay motionless in the midwife's arms. Then the pale child had moved and given a lusty cry and Kathryn herself had wept at the gift the gods of magic had granted them.

Galen fiddled with the lightening shaped birthmark in his left wrist, running a finger over it's slightly raised surface, his eyes turned inward and deep in thought.

"Why would Voldemort come after me and what does Harry Potter have to do with me?" He was looking at his parents again, his purple eyes mirroring the confusion he felt.

"Because you are connected to both, Galen Evan Lucas Llewellyn," said a soft voice and Galen turned to see the speaker was one of the aged village Seers. "You are connected by the curse that failed and by the Prophecy unfulfilled. You are the 'Chosen One' reborn."

Galen's eyes widened a fraction and he shook his head violently. "No. That doesn't make sense. I...I'm not..."

His voice trailed away as something within him surfaced. The room before him and the people within it seemed to dim to be replaced by a foggy whiteness that moved sluggishly all around him. He could see nothing nor could he hear anything except the frantic beating of his own heart. His violet eyes scanned the fog around him but he could only make out vague shapes some distance away and flashes of light that turned the fog around him surreal shades of color. Faintly he could hear voices and felt himself drawn to them.

A few seconds later, or it could have been hours since time had no real meaning in this place, Galen became aware of the sound of a second heartbeat and faint footsteps behind him. His hand moved toward his wand as he turned quickly toward the sound only to discover that both his wand and it's holster were gone. Panic crossed his face for a brief instant until he realised his 'attacker' was not visible to him. He stopped in his tracks and looked carefully around him, trying to calm his racing heart. Surely whatever or whoever was following him could have already killed him if that's what they intended.

"I know someone is there. Come out and we'll talk," he said in the bravest voice he could muster while his heart was pounding in his ears.

A figure materialized a half a meter to his left with a grin. Galen found himself staring into a face similar to his own and his eyes widened again. The transparent and ghostly boy before him was shorter than him and extremely skinny. His messy black hair seemed to wave in a nonexistent wind and his pale green eyes studied Galen closely. The strange ghostly boy ran a pale hand through his hair causing his fringe to stand on end revealing the pale lightening shaped mark on his forehead the twin of the birthmark Galen bore on his left wrist.

"It's good to finally meet you, Galen. I've watched and waited for sixteen years for this moment."

"Who are you?" Galen's eyes were wide and somewhat fearful.

"I think you already know or maybe suspect," the spirit boy made a motion with his hand and the fog around them lifted to reveal a large, tree-lined park. "Come sit. We have much to talk about."

A bench appeared in the shade of a large cherry tree whose blossoms were falling gently around them like snow. The ghostly boy sat down with a sigh and looked up at Galen with a small but sad smile.

"I'm not going to hurt you, you know." The voice sounded sad and lonely and Galen jumped guiltily at the sound.

He was not scared anymore for clearly the spirit was lonely. After a few seconds he sat down, staring openly at the boy in awe as it dawned on him who he was sitting next to. "You're Harry Potter but you're dead."

Harry nodded and for a moment everything stood still. Harry closed his eyes and silver tears fell from them though he made no sound. Galen turned away from the sight of Harry's deep, unending grief and waited patiently for him to speak again. After a few moments Harry calmed himself and spoke again, though his eyes remained closed.

"I am dead yet I live on in you, Galen. My death was a tragic mistake. I was supposed to survive the attack on my parents and become the 'Chosen One' the Prophecy spoke of," he rubbed his face with his hand. "Instead I foolishly confronted the one who had murdered my family instead of allowing my mother's sacrifice to protect me from the Killing Curse and the connection between my body and soul was broken before my time was expired. I was only able to grant the world seven years respite from the darkest wizard ever known. I have failed to do my duty."

Harry slumped a little on the bench and more tears made their way down his face. Galen put an arm around the smaller boy to comfort him and was surprised when his arm met warm flesh and not ghostly coldness. Harry leaned back a little his shoulders shaking. "I left the world to the Darkness and I can't forgive myself for that."

"It's not your fault. Voldemort is a the most powerful Dark Wizard ever seen. No one can stand against him and survive or so rumors say. Only Dumbledore himself has ever survived a duel with him but even the most powerful Light Wizard is powerless against him. He's simply to strong," Galen's mind was racing trying to find a way that anyone could win against such power but he couldn't seem to find a strategy that would work.

Harry looked up at Galen for a moment, a strange look on his face. "Together, with our souls and powers joined we are strong enough to defeat him."

"I don't think so, Harry," Galen looked doubtful.

"We ARE, Galen. Fate has given the Light side one last desperate chance at victory." Harry's voice was emphatic and carried such certainty that Galen was surprised. "You are very powerful and were destined to be from the start as the Llewellyn line is one of the two the purest Light Wizarding lines in existence. The other was the Potter line, which died with me. When our twin souls merged our powers likewise merged making you more powerful still. You can do things that no other wizard or witch can do, Galen. You are the new 'Chosen One': the only one 'with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord'.


	3. Chapter Two

_**Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men**_

_**By: A.S. Gryffindor**_

**Author's Note: **Here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy. I don't own anything Harry Potter related. That all belongs to JKR.

**Chapter Two: Chosen One's Return**

_"Hope is always available to us. When we feel defeated, we need only take a deep breath and say, 'yes,' and hope will reappear. -Monroe Forester_

Galen lay on his bed staring at the shadowy ceiling of the room above him. Moonlight poured through two windows bathing the room in silver light that was almost as bright as day. The news that he carried the soul of Harry Potter within him was more than the sixteen year old to deal with. After the revelation he'd gone up to his room to get some sleep but sleep seemed to be alluding him. His heart pounded in his chest at the thought of the task that lay ahead of him and one that he'd apparently been training for all his life. Harry may have insisted that he was not alone in this but he couldn't help the feeling of isolation and loneliness that had crept into his heart.

Galen rolled over and curled himself into a small ball, feeling fear crawl up his spine. Unconsciously he rubbed the lightening shaped birthmark on his left wrist, trying to think of anything else but his duty. Harry was a silent and invisible observer of Galen's struggle. He sat in the window seat nearby looking up at the stars as if they held all the answers, his pearly form invisible to Galen at the moment. Mars was very bright overhead and as he looked up at it he couldn't help but wonder if there was a battle going on somewhere at that very moment. He sighed and looked over at Galen's ball-like form huddled under the blankets.

He understood all to well how the younger wizard felt. He hadn't a clue what his job was now that Galen knew of his existence within him. Always before his duty was clear: Protect Galen, join powers with him, train even as he was training but always do so while remaining hidden from all, especially his young charge. Now he found himself in an uncomfortable position and one that he had not foreseen happening. Galen knew he was there now and a connection had been forged between them in that moment. And he found himself wanting to befriend his younger charge. He hadn't had a real conversation with anyone since he'd last spoken to his parents sixteen years before and he was now realising how lonely and starved for companionship he was. As far as he was aware he was the only spirit to have chosen this path when the path back to his own body was blocked. Most people simply chose to be reborn into a new life with no memory of their previous one on the rare occasion that this occurred. Even though he knew it had been his choice to return in his last moment of life what he was supposed to do was still extremely unclear to him.

Galen rolled over so that he was facing the window Harry sat in and squinted his eyes until he could make out the spirit's glowing outline. As the image became more clear Galen noticed that Harry looked to be in deep contemplation. His knees were drawn up to his chin and he was hovering above the window seat while a strange etheral wind moved his hair. Galen studied the ghostly figure that was slowly becoming clearer by the moment to him. The slightly older ghost looked pensive and sad. Galen wondered what was going through the spirit's mind since he looked so forlorn. It occured the him that this probably wasn't any easier on Harry then it was on him and it might even be more difficult on the young spirit. He'd given up everything, a life in eternity with his own family to remain here. All he had now was a tenuous existence as a part of Galen's soul. Not a very even trade in Galen's opinion.

"Why?" Galen's soft voice broke the silence.

Harry's pale green eyes found Galen's purple ones. He floated over to the boy and perched on the edge of the bed though Galen felt nothing as he did so. He broke eye contact with Galen and stared down at his hands as he did so.

"Why did I chose this option, you mean?" when Galen nodded Harry sighed again. "I was given a choice in the moment between life and death because it wasn't my time to die. There was no place for me to go so I returned hoping to be sent back to my own body. Unfortunately, it was too damaged when the house collapsed over it and my soul was not there to insure it's protection by an accidentally cast shield. I was sent back again briefly and then I was merging with your own soul since you were born at the moment I died.

Galen thought about what Harry said. Would he have been able to do what Harry had done? He didn't think so. He was not so brave.

"I know this is a bit strange and understand that you might be scared but I promise you I'll never hurt you, Galen. I've been a part of you for sixteen years. I'm not about to take you over or possess you without your permission. I am not an evil spirit. I just want to correct an error that was made sixteen years ago."

Galen held up his hand to stop Harry's tirade. "I'm sure you'd never hurt me, Harry. It's just going to take some getting used to is all. I've never even seen a ghost let alone spoken to one. It feels a bit like I'm talking to myself."

Harry burst out laughing and his pale eyes danced with mirth. Galen chuckled softly and his eyes sparkled.

"I think we'll get along brilliantly, mate," said Harry still trying to get his laughter under control.

Galen nodded and found that he was able to finally think about sleeping now that some of the tension he'd felt moments before was gone. He yawned and looked at Harry. "Goodnight, Harry."

"G'night Galen."

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Dumbledore sat bolt upright in bed, his eyes searching the darkness of the room frantically. There was something strange on the air, something out of place. Dumbledore closed his eyes a moment trying to find the disturbance that he'd felt in the ambient magic around him. Something of enormous importance had just occurred and it had echoed down the conduits of magic he was attuned to. Even as he searched for it though he knew it was neither Dark nor evil. It was of the Light and whatever or whoever it was they were strong.

After several moments searching nothing unusual presented itself to him. He was just about to fall back asleep as it had been a particularly trying day when another flux in the magical energy around him occurred followed by a sound similar to wind chimes. One of a half dozen instruments on the small, old fashioned desk in his sleeping chambers had activated. For a split second he stared at the device made of slender silver wire and clear crystals that was clearly moving as if in a slight breeze; the different sized crystals resonating with the breeze and humming softly in a faint tune.

Albus got out of bed and studied the instrument more closely. There was no reason on Earth for this particular instrument to be active. The soul and magical signature it was magically attuned to had been lost years before. It was on that night that he'd lost all hope though he had hidden the fact away from the rest of the Light wizards. Why he had kept the device all these years was a mystery even to him but the crystals continued to emit their soft tune and there was now an answering echo coming from somewhere in his main office. Intrigued and a little bit confused the aging leader of the Light Wizards moved out into his main office to see an unusual sight. Three other delicate silver instruments were also emitting somewhat musical sounds and great quantity of silver and gold sparks while Fawkes, Dumbledore's bonded phoenix, was trilling softly in response to a glowing sphere of light that was hovering in the center of the room.

Albus felt drawn to the light and knowing by Fawkes's reaction to it that it was not evil, he walked until he was standing mere inches from it. The glowing sphere of light moved around Dumbledore as if trying to determine whether to trust him. Then it moved to Fawkes who sang softly to it as it did the same to the phoenix. After doing so the light hovered over the Headmaster's desk and glowed for a moment like a miniature sun before it vanished leaving behind two letters on scarlet parchment addressed in glowing gold ink. One was address to Albus Dumbledore at Hogwarts School and the other to Galen Evan Lucas Llewellyn of Ashgrove.

Everything went silent and time stood still. Somehow beyond all hope the 'Chosen One' had been recognized and Dumbledore's eyes streamed tears of profound relief. Soon he would reemerge into the wizarding world and the final victory would belong to the Light.

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The Tuesday after Galen's sixteenth birthday dawned bright and clear. Sunlight was streaming in from the east facing windows of the Llwellyn manor house as Galen made his way down to the library thankful that none of the servants or his family had seen him. This morning's lessons had been cancelled, though he would still be having Defense Training in the afternoon, so that he could have some free time to work on his essays not that he really needed it. He rather suspected that his parents had cancelled lessons so that he could come to terms with his situation and the destiny that had been revealed to him the night before.

He hadn't seen Harry yet that morning but it didn't really bother him to much because now that he knew what to look for he could feel him. Their brief talk had strengthened an already existing bond between the two that was now allowing thoughts, feelings, actual words and various other bits of information to pass between the two. Harry's spirit inside him felt warm and comforting, like a soothing presence within his mind and he realized he'd always felt this presence before. The only difference now was that he was fully attuned to it and he could now speak to the spirit that was sharing his body and Harry would speak back.

Galen sat down in a chair near the window savoring the warmth of the sun's light even though it was now November and he could feel Harry's happiness at the warmth although he was unsure as to whether the spirit could actually feel it or not. After a few reflective moments Galen turned his mind to the task at hand. He felt the need to know about Harry's past in order to understand some of the memory flashes he'd been experiencing and thus to understand the spirit that dwelled within him. He was going to the library to find a room full of old Daily Prophets and other papers he'd remembered seeing there as a very young child.

"Somewhere at the back," he muttered to himself and he felt Harry's interest.

_"We need to find out as much as we can, Galen," _Harry's voice in his mind was full of an emotion he could not name.

"Maybe we should wait. We don't have to do this," Galen was suddenly uncertain and a little afraid of what the papers might say.

_"I know this is uncomfortable especially for me but we need what little information we might find in the Prophet. To get more we may actually have to go back to where it all started...back home...," _Harry's voice sounded strangely hollow and overwhelmingly sad. Galen felt the spirit's essence black out leaving him feeling vulnerable and alone.

"Harry? Are you okay?" Galen's voice was tentative but barely a second passed before the warmth returned and he could 'hear' Harry again.

_"Sorry Galen. Sometimes it just hits me hard," _the translucent spirit of the young wizard appeared in front of a nearby window, his pale green eyes looking pensive. "Sometimes I wonder what my life would have been like if there was no Voldemort or if I had let my mother's protective spells and sacrifice do their job."

Galen watched Harry a moment, slightly distrubed by the fact that he could see the sky and tree branches through him but said nothing. There was nothing he could sat really, at least not anything that wouldn't sound trite and/or stupid.

Harry, for his part, was trying to squash the feelings of hopelessness and confusion he was feeling. He was also angry at himself for standing and taking the killing blow. He was supposed to have been the bloody 'Chosen One' after all! How could he have been so stupid as to let the Darkest wizard in a century kill him upon their very first encounter? The burdens Galen would have to carry should have been his but now he was forcing them onto him in much the same manner he'd had them forced on him. Suddenly he hated himself and, even more than that, he hated Voldemort for putting him in this position to start with.

Galen felt the rush of emotions coming from Harry though not the thoughts that were causing them. He walked over to where the ghost hovered and gave Harry a lopsided grin. "Don't worry about me or anything else. Remember I've been preparing for this all my life. I don't blame you for a minute Harry. You did what you thought was right at the time. Voldemort is the only one to blame for this."

Harry looked up in surprise and shook his head. "But..."

"No 'buts'. Harry," Galen cut him off before he could go another round on the self-blame carousel. "Whatever happened that night happened for a reason. I don't know what it is but maybe, just maybe, it happened so you wouldn't have to face this alone in the end."

Harry's pale, luminesent eyes widened and Galen knew that the spirit had not even thought of his situation in that light before. "Maybe you're right."

"I know I am," Galen wasn't sure how he knew that this was the truth but he did and his confidence in this feeling stilled the doubts plaguing Harry's mind.

"I suppose we should get started then. The information will not just appear before us."

Galen continued toward the back of the library with his ghostly shadow following close behind. At the very back of the dark panelled library was a locked door that lead to a small archive of newpapers and other things or so his father had said. He opened the door with the tiny silver key and the password that his mother had given him and began his search. The stacks of Daily Prophets were arranged on maple shelves in reverse year order which meant that the most recent were near the door and older issues would be farther into the room. Within the same year they were arranged by month and within the month days. There were also scrapbooks of pictures and news clippings, boxes of old wizarding photographs and old crumbling parchments tied with twine.

Galen and Harry both scanned the shelves looking for the paper for November 1, 1981, the day after Harry and his family had been murdered. When they found the correct shelf they stood, or in Harry's case hovered, staring at it with trepidation. Galen swallowed suddenly uncomfortable and he looked over at Harry whose pale eyes had darkened with suppressed sadness.

"Well...," Galen's voice was tense.

"It'll be okay, Galen. Let's see it then," Harry's voice was likewise tense.

The headline splashed across the page above a moving picture of an infant Harry being held by his mum as his father looked on caused Harry to freeze in place, a ghostly hand outstretched toward the picture he could not touch. Silver tears fell from his eyes but he did not make a sound. Rather he continued to stare at the picture as if willing it into reality again.

_**Triple Tragedy in Godric's Hollow**_

_**The Potters and Infant Savior Slain**_

_The wizard known variously as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named or You-Know-Who has been defeated at long last but at the cost of the last remaining members of one of the oldest Light wizarding families in existence. Sometime very near midnight last night You-Know-Who broke into the Potter family home at 479 Godric's Way and killed James and Lily Potter, aged 21 and their infant son Harry, aged 15 months, before vanishing completely from the scene. It is unknown at this time what the cause is of the disappearance of one of the Darkest wizards in recent memory but as You-Know-Who's robes and wand were discovered at the scene and as Ollivander of Ollivander's Wands has positively identified the yew wand found at the scene as belonging to the former Dark Lord it is quite clear that he too must have perished. Several nearby neighbors recalled seeing flashing lights and the sound of an explosion of some kind nearby and coming from the general direction of the Potter home though curiously they could not seem to recall exactly where they had seen it._

_We at the Daily Prophet would like to take this time to urge our readership to take a moment of silence for the three brave souls who had went to the eternal rest well before their time. May you find the peace you were denied in life._

_-Story continued on page 3_

_-Potter Cottage Scene of Investigation by Department of Mysteries see page 4_

_-Godric's Hollow in Mourning see page 8_

_-Funeral Plans for Potter Family announced see page 10_

_-Death Eaters arrested in attack on the Longbottoms see page 12_

Galen flipped through the paper and scanned the other articles quickly before laying it aside and working his way through the stack. Harry read them over his shoulder making no comment though he was filing away what little information they gleaned away for future reference. Finally, another headline caught their attention. This one was dated 24 November 1981, several weeks after the attack.

_**Harry Potter, Infant Savior Proclaimed 'Chosen One'**_

_The Ministry of Magic, Department of Magical Law Enforcement and the Department of Mysteries issued a combined statement this morning on their findings in the murder of James and Lily Potter and their young son Harry. After several weeks study of objects near the place where You-Know-Who's robes and wand were found and after studying the room in which two of the three murders took place, it has been determined that 15 month old Harry Potter was responsible for the Dark Lord's demise._

_All of the objects in question as well as the two bodies in the room and the nursery itself were rift with Dark Magics but overlaying the magical signature of the the Dark Lord was a second and even more powerful one at first though to belong to Lily Potter. With continued study, however, the magical signature has now been verified by Albus Dumbledore and other specialists as belonging to Harry Potter instead. It was at this time that Albus Dumbledore has also announced the existence of a Prophecy recorded in the Hall of Prophecy that named the infant Harry as the only one capable of putting an end to You-Know-Who's reign of terror._

_-Story continued on page 5_

_-Department of Mysteries Other Findings see page 8_

_-Prophecies and Seers see page 12_

_-Chudley Cannons fire manager see sports section_

They continued the search until lunch after which Galen had to return to his studies but other than Galen's birth and christening announcements and an obituary on the Potters as well as a lengthy article dealing with their funeral there was nothing more to be found. Both of them left the library more frustrated then when they had entered.

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The next several weeks seemed to pass in a blur for Galen. Three days after his sixteenth birthday a strange phoenix appeared quite suddenly in the middle of breakfast, clutching a scroll of parchment in his beak. Once the phoenix had dropped the scroll in front of his father and had given Galen a curious look it had vanished in a flash of flame. Ever since his parents had read the letter his training had intensified, especially in the areas of combative and defensive magics, healing and potions. There was also additional classes added to his schedule that dealt with magics one could use if they were bonded with another witch or wizard of which Galen knew very little.

Galen and Harry, who was in his ghostly form, were sitting in the grass just outside the training area while a young witch named Holly Lewis, who was the instructor for these lessons spoke.

"Soul Bonded magic is one the rarest types of magic that wizards have access to. Not many witches or wizards have the ability to form such a bond in the first place, which is what makes it unusual. The Soul Bond itself is very powerful and when one is created the powers of the two magical beings are combined and both have access to the other's abilities and powers therefore making both more powerful and stronger magically," she began.

Galen quirked an eyebrow. "You said 'magical beings'. So does that mean a wizard or witch could be bonded to a magical creature such as a phoenix or unicorn?"

"Yes, though that is the rarest form of all Soul Bonds. The most common types of Bonds are the ones between family members, husbands and wives or between extremely close friends if the will is strong enough. Your Soul Bond is very unusual in the fact that your bonded to someone who is a spirit," she glanced at Harry for a moment and then continued. "I can show you how to combine your magics even in the midst of heated battle, how Harry can heal you during battle and, most importantly, how to combine your magical cores into one for short periods of time."

Harry's eyes widened a little. "Is that even possible? I thought something like that would endanger the lives of the two bonded wizards?"

"Normally, that would be the case but because of the special circumstances involved with both of you and because you have already done something like it before I think it might just be possible. You are bonded on an even deeper level than most I've dealt with and have been bonded for as long as Galen has lived. These two factors should remove most of the usual dangers with merging your two cores but I would still strongly advise against doing so however and to use that combined power only as a last resort."

Harry lapsed into deep thought and Holly looked at Galen again. He too was in deep thought and it seemed as if some silent form of communication was happening between the two boys. Galen looked up at her first.

"Is there anything else I need to know before we get started?"

Harry looked at Holly and both of them said 'yes' at the same time. Harry gave both her and Galen an uncomfortable look but said nothing.

"There is one more thing but we will only try it if you feel comfortable enough with the idea, Galen."

Galen looked apprehensive and Harry tried to give him a comforting smile. _"We don't have to do anything you feel uncomfortable with so if you don't want to do this we don't need to."_

Holly looked at Galen closely before continuing. "The final ability you both have is the ability to switch control of the host body between you. This ability is only possible in the type of Bond you have because you've bonded to a spirit as opposed to a living being."

There was a long, uncomfortable silence after her statement. Galen had lapsed into thought again and Harry had stood, moving a little way away to give them both some privacy. He was currently standing and staring glumly at the sparkling surface of the of the nearby lake, the connection between them closed so tightly that Harry knew Galen could 'hear' it humming inside his head. He didn't want whatever Galen was feeling at the moment to invade his mind. He knew of this ability already because he had used it once when Galen was very small in order to save his life but Galen did not remember it. It had made him uncomfortable at the time, even though it had been purely instinctual and it had been the only time he'd ever communicated with Galen's parents directly. He stood there in that somehow terrible silence and waited.

Galen watched Harry move off from the corner of his eye and felt the link between them close down. He was sad to lose the link even if it was just temporarily but he was also glad that Harry was leaving him alone with his thoughts. He closed his eyes and listened to the sound of birds in the skies above him, the faint sounds of water rushing over rocks in the nearby stream and used them to calm the madly running thoughts in his own mind. He though about the war that was raging outside the protections around his village, about the people who had already lost so much. He thought about how he would feel if the Death Eaters and Voldemort overran his home and killed everyone he'd grown up with while he stood by unable to do anything. He thought about the letter his father had given him, the letter he had yet to answer because he was still uncomfortable with the role he was being asked to take in this war. Finally, he thought about Harry, who had lost so much and who had been willing to give up still more to insure the defeat of this monster and to put an end to the darkness. He opened his eyes.

"I will do this. We both need to be as strong as possible if we are to even have a chance of defeating Voldemort. I give my permission."

Several miles away, in a dark cave long forgotten by most men and wizards, a weakly burning light flared into brightness until it was reflected by thousands upon thousands of crystal embedded in the walls in a rough circular pattern. An unmarked tomb lay at the center of this circle of light and suddenly words scrolled over the surface of it detailing whose tomb it was and a clarion call sounded within the private chambers of Albus Dumbledore, whose head jerked up in surprise.

The time had come at last for the Warrior of Light to take up his ancient weapons to fight the Dark for the 'Chosen One' had returned at last.


	4. Chapter Three

_**Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men**_

_**By: A.S.Gryffindor**_

**Author's note: **Anything Harry Potter related belongs to JKR. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Chapter Three: What is Right or What is Easy?**

_**"Soon we must all make the choice between what is right and what is easy."**_**Albus Dumbledore GoF movie**

_**"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." **_**Albus Dumbledore- CoS page 245 Canadian edition**

Severus Snape was a solitary man and had been since that cold autumn night when Lily and her family were murdered by the hands of his then master: Voldemort. He had begged Voldemort to spare the lives of Lily and Harry saying he could turn them Dark for him but he'd been betrayed. His master's betrayal had not wounded him half as much as the knowledge that he was the one ultimately responsible for her death as well as that of her innocent child. He and he alone had divulged the contents of the Prophecy to the Dark Lord which had caused him to hunt down and slay the Potters. He was so deeply grieved by this fact, he'd sought escape in death only to be stopped by Dumbledore who told him that this was not the way to honor Lily and Harry's sacrifice. Once his pain and grief had subsided somewhat Snape had joined the Order of the Phoenix. At first he was keeping an eye on known Death Eaters who'd escaped justice and later, when the Dark Lord was reborn using the darkest of rituals, as a spy within the Death Eater ranks. He performed this duty until his buried rage at the Dark Lord for the deaths of Lily and Harry surfaced during a dark revel leading to a spectacular duel that members of the Order still talked about.

At the moment he was a Courier for the Order, passing information, potions, wands and banned spell books between the various Order enclaves in hiding. Spinner's End had also become a safe house set up as a part of a larger network that ferried escaped political prisoners, runaway muggle slaves, and muggleborns who had not registered with the Ministry out of the country and into safety. He did these things in the hopes that it might assuage some of his guilt, that it might heal his wounded heart and because it was what Lily would have done were she here.

"In your memory, Lily. For you and Harry I do these things in remembrance of you both. I have to follow Dumbledore now so that I can erase what I've done... so that you'll forgive me for sending that monster after your family. Please forgive me...please," his dark eyes glistened with the tears he refused to shed as he laid flowers on the grave in front of him, his eyes tracing the names upon it.

_James Potter_

_Born 27 March 1960_

_Died 31 October 1981_

_Loving Husband and brave spirit_

_Lily Potter_

_Born 30 January 1960_

_Died 31 October 1981_

_Loving wife and pure heart_

_Harry James Potter_

_Born 31 July 1980_

_Died 31 October 1981_

_Pure and innocent soul_

_The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death._

A bright, white mist curled around the grave marker before him and there was a flicker of movement within it. For the briefest of moments he thought he saw a pair of luminous eyes looking at him. He stood there in shock while the mist curled itself around him for a brief moment, leaving him with a feeling of warmth and a soft female voice spoke.

"Protect the Hope of Light. Guard him so that he may fulfill the Prophecy left behind by the Chosen One. He will return soon and with him all hope."

The last words became fainter and fainter until they vanished altogether and Snape found himself waking in his own bed, the blankets wrapped tightly around his knees and legs. For several moments he could not get his heart to stop it's frantic beating and his eyes looked about him wildly. He ran a hand over his face and rubbed his eyes.

"Just a dream like all the others before it." Snape had been having these strange dreams of the last several weeks since the anniversary of the Potters' deaths in October and was still at a loss to explain them. They made absolutely no sense to him at all. Who was this 'Hope of Light' and why on earth would such a person, if they existed, come to a former Death Eater seeking protection?

He was so lost in his contemplations that he failed to notice the flash of flame over a nearby table that signaled the arrival of Dumbledore's phoenix. Fawkes stared at Snape for several long minutes before trilling a soft note at the younger wizard. Snape's head shot up and he took the letter from the outstretched leg of the phoenix who promptly vanished in another flash of flame. He looked at the handwriting on the parchment roll and recognized Dumbledore's loopy script immediately. He broke open the seal with barely a glance at the Order's crest of a rampant phoenix with it's wings outstretched wondering what his mission would be this time.

_Severus, _

_I cannot tell you all I would like to at this time but know it has great bearing on our current situation. I need you to go to Ashgrove village and talk to Lord Angus Llewellyn under whose care the village falls. His son, Galen, is in need of protection and a trusted escort to Order Headquarters. Tell no one of what you do. The lives of thousands depend on the boy's safe arrival here._

_A.D._

Snape read the letter over several times more but it became no clearer to him than before. Finally, he set the letter afire with a quick spell and went to get his traveling cloak. It was going to be a long journey to Ashgrove.

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That day started out like any other for Galen. He sat at the breakfast table listening to his parents talking about the Sander's new baby and the betrothal of Ariana Franklin to Nathan Hale while going over his latest potions essay with Harry 'looking' through his eyes. It has felt strange at first, like having your eyes open underwater, but Galen had gotten used to it. After a few moments though the strange almost double vision faded as Harry's attention was caught by something else. The spirit materialized in front of a nearby window and was holding his hand out in front of him with a frown of concentration on his face.

_"Galen, something is wrong. Dark magic. I can't tell the source but it's headed this way fast.We need to leave. NOW!"_

Galen leapt to his feet and threw a panicked look at his parents. They took one look at his face and knew what he was about to say.

"Don't worry about us. It's you they're after. You need to go, now. We'll stay behind and fight as is our duty," his father's deep voice rumbled as he took a sword from a nearby sword case and drew his wand. His mother likewise drew her wand.

"But...I...No..." he felt a wave of magic hit the shields around the village. "I can't leave. I have to fight."

"No! You must go now," his father's voice was firm. "Find Severus Snape. He will see you to safety."

Harry continued to feed energy into the shields trying to block out Galen's wavering emotions so that they didn't interfere with his casting. He felt each impact on them and knew that they wouldn't hold but a few moments more. He glanced back over his shoulder at the Llewellyns willing them to be able to see him, a sad look on his face.

"Forgive me. They would not be here at all were it not for me. I have placed everyone here in terrible danger and for that I am sorry."

"No, you have protected my son and gave him a chance to live. There is nothing to forgive. It was only a matter of time before they discovered us."

Harry felt the protective shield splinter and could sense the fine cracks in it as they pulsed with released magic. The next attack would destroy the shield completely and the village of Ashgrove would be overrun within seconds after it's fall. He turned one last time to the Llewellyns and bowed respectfully.

"Thank you for your protection these last 16 years. I owe you a debt that can never be repaid. I will do my best to protect Galen," Harry's spirit vanished just as they all heard an explosion nearby.

Galen ran to the window and saw the mill was afire. In the distance he could just make out that the villagers were running from several cloaked and masked figures. He could hear distant screams and he turned to his parents, his face pale but determined.

"Go, now," Angus had taken him by the shoulder and pushed him toward the escape tunnel behind the fireplace where he'd played as a young child.

"No! I want to stay and fight! I can't just leave you here! Ashgrove is my home too!" as he said this Galen drew his two wands from their sheaths and headed toward the outer door not looking back at his parents.

"Galen! No! Come back!" Kathryn's piercing cry almost stopped him but the pull to defend his home was far greater. Before he had even registered the fact, he found himself running down the main street of the village. Acidic smoke and the screams of the villagers filled his senses. In that moment he found something within himself that he never knew existed before. A power that seemed to have risen in response to the Dark Magic being cast around him. He was **not** going to stand by and let these Death Eaters do whatever they wanted. He was **not** going to allow them hurt anyone else ever again. If he was really the 'Chosen One' than it was time for him to show himself. Time for him to stop hiding and start fighting.

He could feel Harry's spirit merging with him in a way he never had before. He felt Harry's magic flowing through him, strong and warm, and augmenting his own powers. Harry's voice was in his head and he saw the world through a strange kind of double vision. The magic around him glowed with a myriad of colors, not just the familiar colors of the spells that Galen was used to seeing. Each spell contained several colors besides the ones he was familiar with and Galen found that he could tell jinxs from curses and Light from Dark spells. He could also read the signatures of the people who had cast them.

_"Is this how you see magic?" _he thought at Harry as soon as he came out of his daze.

_"Mostly. I don't see in the same manner as you do. Everything is shifting energy patterns and colors to me."_ Harry looked around them and saw several Death Eaters nearby attacking a young mother and he children. Galen saw them as soon as Harry did and didn't hesitate for one moment.

"Leave her alone! I'm the one you're looking for!" Galen bellowed and the black cloaked men turned to face him instead. The young mother and her children fled down the street.

"What are you...trying to be a hero, kid? said a sneering voice and Galen pointed both his wands at the Death Eaters.

"He thinks he's all that. Lookit he's got two wands. Needing to compensate for weak magic, boy?" a second Death Eater chuckled and threw a spell at Galen, who stepped aside and shot off a silent Reductor curse at him. The man fell to the ground howling, the bones in his leg shattered.

The other Death Eaters shot curses of their own even as Galen's battle training took over. He dodged two of the incoming curses and felt the third impact on the shield he'd not been aware he'd cast around himself.

_"We need to get somewhere in the open, Galen. We can't stay too long here or we'll be surrounded," _Harry's voice was calm but Galen's heart was pounding in his chest.

No sooner had Harry said this then they both felt enemies behind them as well as saw several more Death Eaters joining the fray from farther down the road. Within minutes they were surrounded and the Death Eaters moved in slowly for the kill, their eyes on Galen's two wands that they had tried unsuccessfully to summon to them.

"Surrender now and perhaps we will spare your village from the wand," said a white-blond Death Eater in an almost conversational tone.

Galen's eyes flared and a ripple of power moved over the group in warning. "Eat dung! I will **never** surrender to you."

The Death Eaters laughed and aimed Stunners at Galen but they merely bounced off his shield. The Death Eaters who were not quick enough were hit by the rebounding spells and fell to the ground leaving an opening for Galen to dart through. The Death Eaters followed him a few seconds later, no longer intent on the village or it's inhabitants now that they had flushed out their query.

"Capture him alive. I want him bound and taken before our master," Lucius Malfoy shouted as spells rained down on Galen, hitting his shield with the impact of a thousand Bludgers.

Galen ran down an alley, crossed two country lanes and plunged into the forest that surrounded the village near his parents manor. He heard his pursuers enter not a second later and he began to dodge through the trees using them as cover. Spells lite up the semi-darkness but none of them were aimed well enough to strike true though they did cause a rain of splinters to fall all around Galen. Galen kept moving on even when all sound of his pursuers had vanished. After a few moments he reached the clearing he'd once seen a unicorn in and he stopped at the far edge of it to catch his breath.

_"I think we've lost them," _Harry's voice was edged with worry and Galen could feel him using his eyes to look around.

Galen said nothing and wiped the sweat from his forehead, leaving a trail of dirt behind. _"We need to get back to the village. I won't let anyone else get hurt because of me." _

He could feel Harry's indecision as he thought things through but after a few seconds he felt Harry's agreement and so he started back the way he had come. He had just returned to the edge of the forest nearest the village when there was a piercing, high pitched scream that froze Galen in his tracks.

"Mother, " he seemed unable to move for a few seconds and then he was running back toward the center of the village. Another scream had him running flat out just as an explosion caused the ground beneath him to move violently. Galen fell sprawling but got right back up again ignoring the gash in his arm and the fact that he had twisted his ankle when he fell in his efforts to reach his mother whose scream had been abruptly cut off by the explosion.

He skidded to a halt in one of the alleys off the main square. The square was full of Death Eaters who surrounded the villagers that had been unable to escape: the old, the infirmed, and to Galen's horror several young children. Galen stood without moving, hearing his heart beating loudly in his chest as another scream rent the air. The villagers were looking in horror at the fire that had engulfed the Llewellyn manor house. Galen's eyes followed theirs and he felt his heart stop for a moment and the world around him seemed to lurch.

For a moment everything seemed to stand still. No one moved and the only sounds were of the Death Eater's cloaks flapping in the breeze, the whispering if some of the villagers and the popping sounds of wood burning. Then the ring of Death Eaters parted and Galen could see a tall, pale man moving though them. He was thin, with dark hair and burning crimson eyes and by the way that the Death Eaters were bowing to him it was clear that he was their leader.

_"Voldemort," _Harry's voice hissed and for a moment everything vanished around them in a flash of memory. He saw the same man though one year old Harry's eyes for a half second before that image was replaced with reality again.

Voldemort glanced around him with the air of someone who knew he'd won the battle. The villagers who'd been captured flinched from his cold, crimson eyes and he smirked at their fear. His eyes scanned the alleyways leading to the main square and they stopped on the entrance of the very alley Galen was hidden in. Galen's breath caught in his throat and Harry felt those eyes pierce theirs for a moment. Voldemort's cold voice floated toward them seeming to come from the very walls around them.

"No more games, Galen. I know you are here and I know who you are. No one can keep secrets from Lord Voldemort. Surrender to me and no one else need be hurt. You have one minute to decide or your dear mother will go the same way as your father."

There was no other way. Galen could not allow his mother to die for him. He had to save her if he could. Without thought he moved forward into the light of the square. Harry tried to stop him but he would not hear him.

The Death Eaters surrounded them as soon as he moved into the light cutting off his only escape. Galen stood calmly within their circle, his face devoid of emotion though rage, sorrow and fear were moving over him. He moved no closer to Voldemort though. He merely stood there, eye to eye with the inhuman monster before him. They studied each other for a moment and the world seemed to narrow to just the two of them.

After a few minutes a movement at Voldemort's feet took Galen's attention away from the Dark Lord's gleaming red eyes. His mother lay in a heap at Voldemort's feet, her body twitching with the after effects of the Crutiatus Curse. His eyes narrowed and darkened with anger. Without a thought to his own safety he moved forward only to be grabbed viciously by the nearest Death Eater who pulled back his arms and roughly kicked him in the back of the knees so that he was forced to kneel before the Dark Lord.

"How touching," Voldemort's crimson gaze caught and held Galen's purple one. "You wish to save her life and she wishes to save your's. Isn't that right my dear lady?"

Galen glared at Voldemort. "Let her and the others go. I'm the one you're wanting. Let them go and I'll go quietly."

"No, Galen!" his mother's voice was full of tears and pain. "Don't do this. I'm not worth it. Please!"

Galen's eyes locked with his mother's. "No, Mother. If you die..." Voldemort's cold voice cut through whatever else he was going to say.

"Make your choice. Either you come with me now or your mother and everyone in this village will die while you watch."

Galen's heart skipped a beat as he looked at his mother's tear stained face and the villagers who sat clinging desperately to each other. Then he looked up into the red eyes of the Dark Lord and knew Voldemort meant every word he said. He took one last look at his mother's face before he bowed his head and lifted his two arms in mute surrender.

"I will surrender to you willingly," there were whispers of _no_ from the villagers and his mother but he closed his ears to them. This was hard enough without hearing their pleas. "I will be the ransom for all their lives. In exchange you will leave this village."

_"Galen you can't trust him. He'll go against his word as soon as the opportunity arises."_

_"What would you have me do then, Harry? He has my mother and all these others as prisoners. I have to protect them."_Voldemort's smirk widened as he watched Galen being magically bound and taken away.

"Love is such a weak, foolish emotion. Kill them all, starting with her," Voldemort hissed as he pointed at Kathryn and watched horror blossom on Galen's face.

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It only took Snape a few seconds to realise that something was seriously wrong. The protective wards around Ashgrove had been shredded by a concentrated Dark Magic spell he recognized as being a special ward breaking spell he'd developed during his time as a Death Eater. He frowned and his eyes were drawn to the manor house on the crest of a distant hill. In the second it took him to take in the manor house it exploded into burning flames.

"No...not again..." Snape's eyes shut and for a moment he was unable to move as the image of the last attack on a wizarding town took over his mind. He shook his head to clear it of the vision and started running toward the village, keeping an eye out for the Death Eaters he knew had to be nearby. He become more and more suspicious when the Death Eaters failed to take note of his crossing the broken wards and he moved faster but with more stealth then before.

As he entered the square he discovered where they all were. Some of the village's homes had been reduced to smoldering ruins and the fire at the manor house was still blazing. The villagers were huddled against the wall of a church, looks of fear and horror on their faces. The Death Eaters had their wands trained on them and were making idle slashing motions with them that made the villagers cringe.

Then Snape spotted Voldemort standing in front of a young boy who was kneeling at his feet with his hands raised in surrender. He watched as the young man was bound and the Death Eaters pulled him to his feet by his long, dark hair. Snape started forward, intent on rescuing the boy but stopped when he saw movement at the edge of his vision. He turned his eyes to try and see whatever it was but could seem to lay his eyes upon it. In the split second he'd turned away hell broke loose. He heard the Killing Curse being fired, saw a flash of green light in the intervening space and multiple screams. Over all this a wail rose and the ground beneath him began to tremble.

With a flare of power Galen had broken free of his would be captors and fell to his mother's side. Her eyes, blank and dead, stared back at him and he could feel his magic rising in response to to his rage and sorrow. Harry had frozen for a moment seeing in his mind's eyes another flash of green light and his own mother's crumpled form in front of him. Sorrow and rage were flowing through him though his own was a dull trickle compared to Galen's. Harry's rage was tempered by time but his own magic was responding to Galen's uncontrolled fury taking the latter's magic to new heights. Without a thought of the danger of the move and only wanting to reign in Galen's uncontrolled and unconscious spell before it harmed the innocent villagers that would have been in it's target range Harry merged both his spirit and magic with Galen's more completely then he had ever done before. The transition went completely unnoticed by everyone except Snape who'd seen the flare of power as they merged and looked at Galen with a completely dumbfounded expression.

Voldemort laughed as he stared down at Galen, who now held his mother's dead body in his lap and was rocking back and forth in his grief, his magic rippling around him like a billowing cloud. Tears landed on her still face and Galen's body shook with the sobs he was trying to hold in and with the rage that was in his heart.

"Love is weakness to be avoided at all cost, Galen," Voldemort's voice was silky and soft. "You are a fool."

Galen rose from his position after lay his mother gently on the ground. Tears were still running down his face but his eyes were full of the fires of anger. The Death Eaters closest to Voldemort and Galen took an involuntary step backward at the look in the young wizard's eyes. Voldemort eyes widened and he muttered _soul-merge, no impossible _but he stood still. Galen's eyes were smoldering with rage but that was not what had caused the Death Eaters to step back. Snape was surprised to find that while one of Galen's eyes remained the vibrant purple it normally was the other had become an equally vibrant shade of emerald. These bi-colored eyes were a sure sign of a wizard who had undergone a soul-merge. Snape's eyes widened slightly as he watched Galen and wondered whose soul he was merged with.

"You have broken our accord," Galen's voice rang with authority and had a curious quality to it. Almost as if two people were speaking at once. "This goes against the laws of magic and therefore we must duel. We will avenge our families' deaths."

Voldemort chuckled evilly and drew his wand from within his flowing robes, "Do you wish to die so soon?"

Galen's hands moved in a complex pattern and his two wands returned to his hands. He crossed them in front of himself and glared at the Dark Lord, his strange bi-colored eyes narrowed. There was power pulsing around Galen and the Death Eaters were forced away from him and their master. Other Death Eaters further back scrambled away from the two and the captured villagers took this as their cue to make a run for it.

Galen watched them a moment before turning to face the Dark Lord again, the fire in his eyes somewhat muted. "Let us end this now."


	5. Chapter Four

_Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men_

_by A.S Gryffindor_

**Author's Note: **Here's the next chapter. Sorry that it took so long but I haven't had much of a chance to type of late. Enjoy!

**Chapter 4: A Duel and Flight**

_"I'll wait the signs to come/I'll find a way/I will wait the time to come/I'll find my way home" Exile- Enya_

Galen stood relaxed as he glared across the intervening space between himself and Voldemort. His eyes were locked with the red eyes of the Dark Lord who was standing with his wand palmed in his hand. Only a pale white thumb was curved around the handle of his yew wand. The way he held it was almost lazy but Galen didn't relax his stance in the slightest. After this point he was never going to back down.

"You really believe you are strong enough to take me? How naive of you. No one can stand against me. Not the Ministry. Not Dumbledore. No one. Not even the "Chosen One" could defeat me," he said this last with a disdainful sneer. "He died just like his foolish parents."

Harry felt his anger rise at Voldemort's tone and felt both his and Galen's magic flare. There was a bright golden glow around Galen now and several of the Death Eaters found themselves unable to move, held by some kind of force field spell that they had never seen before. Galen lowered his crossed wands and raised an eyebrow at the Dark Lord who had likewise been pushed back by the force of Galen's powers. Voldemort's eyes narrowed as the power continued to flare around Galen, causing the area around the young man to glow a burning gold. Voldemort studied him for a long moment. There was something familiar about the magical signature that pulse around Galen but he could not put a finger on it and this troubled him greatly.

Galen moved into a battle stance, his body turned to the side so as to offer less of a target for the spells that would soon be flying his way. His left hand wand was held out in front of him while his right was held in a position over his head. His strange eyes studied Voldemort closely, trying to guess what the first attack would be and were it would fall. For a moment he had a flash of memory: An infant Harry Potter facing this same man years before. Then it was gone and Galen found that he was feel neither rage nor fear. A strange calming focus had settled over him like a warm cloak. He could feel his magic intertwined with Harry's own and Harry's presence within him filled him with a strength he never knew he possessed.

The glow around the boy faded into nothing again and Snape's eyes darted between the two duelists. The Death Eaters and Snape were still being held in place by whatever spell had been casted so they were the only two who could move. Snape saw that both Galen and Voldemort seemed to be relaxed but he knew, at least in the Dark Lord's case, that it was an illusion meant to lure his enemy into making the opening move and thus into making a fatal mistake or else to lure him into doing nothing until it was to late. Voldemort was quick with a wand and he had only gotten quicker as the years had passed. Snape watched the muscles in Voldemort's neck, arm and hand tense as he prepared to strike.

Half a second before the spell would have hit Galen a shimmering shield sprang up around him. He had not said a word or made a wand movement. Voldemort's spell richotted off the shield and into the air where it exploded harmlessly overhead. The shield vanished and Galen stood there staring calmly into Voldemort's enraged eyes. Voldemort's eyes narrowed and the two combatants began to circle one another occasionally trading spells, though neither of them managed to score a hit.

Voldemort was the first to draw blood. Galen was unable to move fast enough to prevent being hit by a cutting curse on his arm. Blood sprayed across the intervening space and Galen hissed in pain but kept fighting, sending spell after spell at Voldemort. The continued barrage of spells drove the Dark Lord back until he was pinned down against the stone of a building behind him. An evil smirk stretched across Voldemort's face as Galen stepped closer to him. Five simultaneous spells flew from his finger tips and Galen flinched at them as Voldemort, using the spells as a distraction, leapt over Galen's head and stuck at the young man's back with a sixth and seventh spell.

_"Galen look out!" _Harry's voice was panicked and he tried to throw up a shield around themselves but he was not in time.

Galen was able to dodge two of the spells but the other five slammed into him, throwing him into the air and back against the wall with the force of them. The edges of Galen's vision were black and his two wands had fallen from nerveless fingers. He was unsure of what Voldemort had hit him with but all of his nerves seem to be on fire and he could feel blood falling from several new wounds that were probably caused by a cutting curse or worse. Worst of all the spells seemed to have knocked out Harry for he could not feel the spirit's presence within him.

_"Harry...Harry..," _Galen was frantic and his mind voice was laced with fear. _"Are you still there...Harry?"_

Galen's panicked call was interrupted by Voldemort's cold voice. "You have failed and now you will die," Voldemort raised his wand and his smirk widened. "Avada Keda..."

Before he could finish casting the curse a brilliant white light burst from Galen's outstretched hand engulfing them both. There was a terrible high pitched scream and then the light receded. Of the Death Eaters and Voldemort there was no sign. Galen got his feet, swayed for a moment and then pitched forward as darkness closed in around him.

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Snape looked down at the of the battered young man who lay on the bed before him with an intensity that he usually reserved for his most delicate potions. The young man, Galen Llewellyn, was a very powerful wizard and seemed to have been well trained in the art of dueling. Severus wondered who his mentor had been and most of all he wondered whose soul he'd performed a Soul Merge with. soul Merges were not taken lightly among wizardkind for it constituted a binding magical contract between the two parties involved. Not very many wizards had ever performed one since they were very taxing on the wizard and required great strength of will and magic. It was also considered by many to be borderline dark magic.

"Galen is a very special young man with a harsh destiny to face," a quiet, serene voice interupted Snape's contemplations and Snape lifted his dark eyes to meet the somber amber gaze a priest.

Snape looked back down at Galen again and noticed that the young man's wounds were already starting to heal without benefit of any healing draught having been administered to him. Snape's eyes widened as he noticed the slight golden glow of the magic that was healing Galen. It was the same golden glow he'd seen during the duel. He looked back up at the priest who smiled.

"How is he healing himself? It shouldn't be possible while a wizard is unconscious."

"As I said, Galen is a very special and blessed child. The Spirits of Magic have laid their hand upon him and granted him access to their vast powers. His soul is pure, light and untainted and within him lays the hope of the world."

Snape studied the priest but saw no sign that he was bespelled or cursed. The priest, whose name was Owain Lyons, studied the former spy a moment then turned his eyes back to Galen's still form. Owain came from a long line of magically strong witches and wizards though he himself had been born a Squib. He had felt called into the service of the church at an early age and had, with his parent's blessing entered the priesthood as soon as it was allowable. He had returned to Ashgrove over fifty years before to serve in the church of his hometown and more importantly he'd known Galen for most of the boy's life and he'd been the one to christen the boy as well as marry his parents.

Snape's eyes had fallen to look back at Galen again. He watched the golden traces of magic eddy around the young man's wounds, cleaning and healing them even as Snape watched. The bruises faded and the cuts healed over leaving angry red lines that soon faded into pale scars. Color returned to Galen's face and his labored breathing returned to normal. Galen took one deep breath and then seemed to settle into a more normal sleep. The golden eddies of magic that had surrounded him as he healed vanished with a brief flicker. Snape looked back up at the priest.

"A blessed child?" Snape was confused and he hated being confused. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"What do you know about Galen?" Owain countered. He had come to a decision to trust the ex-spy with the information he knew but he need to know were to begin his explanation.

"Only that Dumbledore sent me to escourt him to safety and that he's somehow important to the war."

Owain nodded and his eyes looked down at Galen again before he said so softly that Snape was at first unsure he'd even heard correctly. "He is the Reborn Chosen One."

Snape's eyes widened in surprise. "That cannot be. The Chosen One..."

"Died and in the same moment Galen was born."

Snape looked down at Galen again as if seeing him for the first time. "How?"

"Angus and Kathryn had tried for years to conceive but they were unable to. As they reached middle age a miracle occurred and Kathryn became pregnant. They were overjoyed to finally have a child of their own but their happiness was overshadowed by the Healer's warning that the child might not survive or might be at best mentally deficient because of the age of the mother," Owain's eyes took on a faraway look. "I was there the night Galen was born. He was a month early and the Healer still swears that he was stillborn but that a strange golden light surrounded the small boy just as he was pulled from his mother's womb. The Healer asked me to look at the child after Kathryn fell asleep but there seemed to be nothing wrong with except for a slight glow that was around him. I reached out to touch him and as soon as I did there was a voice in my head saying _"Here is the hope of the Wizarding Nation. Here is the 'Chosen One Reborn'"_

Snape glanced at the priest a moment and then Galen shifted in his slumber so that he lay on his side with his legs curled up and a hand under his head. He sighed a little in his sleep. Owain smiled and stood up. Snape has said nothing but it was clear to the priest that he hadn't believed him because he kept muttering '_impossible'_under his breath and yet Galen's soul was clearly bound to another. Snape continued to stare down at Galen. "That's just not possible."

Owain shrugged, "I can prove it to you if you like."

Snape's deep black eyes snapped back up to the priest's face. "This is not something you can prove."

"Let me try to prove the truth of my words," Owain's voice was earnest. "You have...we all have....been without hope for so long. Galen and the spirit who shares his soul are the only hope we have left. Our faith must rest on the twin soul but in order for you to believe you must see the truth. I will show you."

As soon as Owain stopped speaking Galen's eyes snapped open but instead of the being luminous purple they were a very vivid green. The eyes moved around in confusion for a moment before Galen sat up in bed and eyed the priest a moment before looking at Snape, who was staring back in shock. Lily's eyes were staring at him from within the boy's face. There was no mistaking them.

"Lily...?"

"Lily Evans Potter was my mother. I'm Harry."

Snape's face became as pale as the wall behind him. He stared into the eyes, seeking some trick, but saw nothing but the pain and sorrow that was reflected in them. "Not possible. Nothing can bring back the dead. Nothing."

Harry shrugged. "I am neither alive nor dead. I existed between the two. That is the choice I made at the moment I died."

Snape fell out of his chair, knocking it sideways and stared up into Harry's eyes. There were tears streaming down his face and his mouth moved though no sound came out. Harry's eyes never left his though when spoke it was directed to Owain.

"I have put Galen into a healing sleep for now but when he wakes he will need someone to talk to. His heart is grieving and I have no way of helping him," Owain nodded. "He may not even want to talk to me, not that I blame him."

"What happened to his parents was not your fault, Harry. I think your realise this already."

"But it still feels as if it was, Owain," Harry's voice sounded tired and his eyes were shadowed. "I will try to talk to him when he wakes and see but I fear that he will be angry at me for a good while yet."

They were silent for some time before Snape found his voice again.

"Forgive me for it was I who..," Snape's whispered voice was full of anguish.

"There is nothing to forgive, Severus. My parent's died trying to save my life and I in turn died to give the wizarding world time to marshall it's forces. Unfortunately, I failed in that regard."

"I cannot forgive myself for what I did. Because of me your family...your mother..."

Harry's green eyes bore into Snape's and he shook his head. "I do not blame you. The blame lays with Voldemort."

Snape's eyes widened at the use of his former master's name but he nodded.

"All I can ask of you now is to guard Galen with your life if need be. He has just suffered a great lose and will need your friendship and support in the days to come. He has just lost all he has ever known. He has never seen such violence before and now he will be in the middle of it all."

"And I'm the one to lead him through this?" Snape's voice sounded skeptical. "You know what I was."

"When the time is right he will do the leading. For now you are to protect him and completely his...no our training.

Snape shook his head, his face still pale. "How?"

"I'm sure you and Dumbledore will find a way," Harry smiled. Then he settled Galen's body down and closed his eyes.

Snape sat back down with a thump and stared up at Owain. "That was...unexpected."

"Indeed," said the aged priest who moved off to perform other duties, leaving Snape deep in thought.

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A week later Galen awoke with his head pounding and his heart grieving. It took him a few moments to remember why he was in such pain both mentally and physically but when he did it seemed to him that the room around him grew more shadowed. He stared sullenly at the white ceiling above him and refused to speak to anyone. There was no point in even living anymore. His parents were dead and the village where he'd grown up was destroyed. There was no hope left in him anymore. He wished he were dead too. Then at least he would be with his parents again. No one could survive this pain.

_"Galen,"_ Harry's voice sounded worried.

_"Leave me alone!"_

_"Galen please..."_

_"Go away!"_

_"Listen we need to talk about what happened."_

Galen's temper flared and his next words dripped with venom. "No! We! Don't! It's all your fault anyway! If you weren't here then none of this...none of this..."

Harry's voice went silent and Galen could feel the spirit's pain before Harry's essence vanished from his senses but he couldn't muster up enough to even care. The grief he was experiencing overrode all other emotions. Tears blurred his vision and he curled up on his side crying softly. He didn't even notice when Owain come into the room and sat down next to him. His whole world was reduced to his grief and guilt. He hadn't been strong enough to defend his town or his parents. It was his fault that they had died.

"That's right, lad. Get it all out," the priest said softly as he moved his hands through Galen's hair. "A good cry's what you now not pretty meaningless words."

Galen continued to cry until he could cry no more and found that his grief seemed to be a little less overwhelming. He turned his tear streaked face to Owain and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. He looked so lost and forlorn that Owain reached out and hugged the young man.

"Why?" Galen's voice was muffled by the priest's robes and he had started crying again. "Why them?"

"That is not for us to know, young Galen. We must only trust that they are in a better place now. Your parents have always stood with the light and against the darkness."

Galen's purple eyes met those of the priest and Owain was frightened by the look in them. They were cold and flat, almost lifeless. "I will avenge their deaths. That is all I have left. Vengeance."

"Do not go into battle against darkness with darkness in your heart, Galen. It is the quickest way to defeat. Do not do this out of revenge but because it is the right thing to do," Owain said softly.

"I don't care about what is right anymore! I want revenge! I want to see that monster suffer and I want my hand to be the one that deals out his judgement!"

"It will not bring your parents back nor will help your heal your heart."

"It doesn't have to," Galen turned his back on the priest and ignored the man the rest of the afternoon. _"It doesn't have to because I don't plan on surviving the encounter."_


	6. Chapter Five

_**Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men**_

_By: Albus Severus Gryffindor_

Authors Note: Another double posting from me. YAY! As always I don't own Harry Potter or anything familar from the series. I only own Galen and the plotline. Enjoy.

_**Chapter 5: Journey into the Unknown**_

_"Where has my heart gone?/ An uneven trade for the real world."-_Field of Innocence-Evanescence

_"I got hurt, and learned/ The way to become stronger"- Start- Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds 1st Ending theme_

Severus and Galen headed out a week later using Muggle transportation in the hopes of not drawing to much attention from the Dark Lord or his minions. Only the priest, Owain, saw them off as a farther precaution against attack. Owain had taken Severus aside as Galen stared sullenly at the ground while the car was loaded for their journey.

"Keep an eye on him, Severus. He's been acting oddly ever since he woke. I don't like it at all."

"Grief can do terrible things to the mind," Severus acknowledged, remembering well his own grief upon the death of the Potters and how he had almost killed himself over it. "Having lived through such myself, I will talk to him and keep an eye on him as well."

"Revenge is never the answer and it will not help him in the long run. In fact it may do irreparable harm instead," the old priest's eyes pierced Severus's and he nodded in reply.

"I will remember that and see to it that Galen learns the difference between what is right and what is easy," he shook the priest's hand warmly and started for the car.

"May the gods of magic go with you," Owain replied softly.

Galen felt a numbness overcoming him as he entered the car and was taken away from the only place he'd ever called home. Ever since his outburst in the church infirmary, he'd felt himself shutting down all of his emotions so that he wouldn't have to feel the grief that was tearing into his heart.

_"You'll pay for that later, you know?"_ Harry's voice was a soft whisper in his mind but Galen chose to ignore it as he'd ignored anything the spirit had said in the last few days.

Harry sighed. _"Look...I know..."_

_"That's just it you don't know! Not really!" _Galen flung the words like a whip intent on causing Harry as much pain as he was currently feeling, forgetting that Harry could feel it already. _"You never had to deal with this...this..."_

Harry's temper flared. _"Don't presume to know what I did or didn't go through, Galen! I lost my life, sacrificing it on the promise of one small chance to make things right!"_

_"How noble! But just think if you hadn't done so then maybe my parents would still be alive! Ever think of that!" _Galen knew the words would hurt but at the moment he didn't care.

_"At least you're still alive but I don't expect you to understand my feelings," _and Galen felt the connections between them slam closed but not before he felt a crushing sense of guilt and grief coming from the spirit.

Galen fumed in silence for several minutes while Harry attempted to reign in his temper. The last few days had been like a nightmare, one designed to cause Harry to relive the night of his own death in vivid detail. For the past three nights his mind was focused on that grim last stand and he watched, as unable now as he had been then, to stop the death and destruction that had rained down upon them all that night.

He knew seeing Voldemort again was the cause of these, for lack of a better term, nightmares. For a split second during the duel, as he had stared into those same mad, red eyes across the intervening space of the dueling ground, he was back in his parents house again staring into the eyes of a madman. Seeing Voldemort again had flung the mistake he'd made that night back into his face with all the force of a bludger and he was still reeling from the impact.

While in Ashgrove he'd been able to forget that there was a war going on beyond it's protected borders because the outside world had never seemed to touch it and was therefore thought of as something bordering on the imaginary by some of the villagers. He'd allowed himself to be lulled by the peaceful surroundings, even as Galen was being trained for the war he must one day join. Despite knowing that one day he and Galen would have to leave the safety of Ashgrove in order to take up the duties destiny required of them by joining in the fight against the Darkness, he'd been lulled into thinking that Ashgrove, the people of the town and Galen's parents would all remain safe and untouched. Now he had failed them just as he had failed the whole of the wizarding world when he'd allowed himself to be killed.

If only he'd let the Killing Curse burn through the protective spells his mother had woven before her death to hit the last protection that had been placed on him the moment she'd selflessly sacrificed her life to save his things would have been different. He'd have been hurt and his magic would have been temporarily crippled but he would have lived to fight another day. Voldemort would have been cautious after his eventual return and maybe the wizarding world would have been more or better prepared for that day. They may have even been granted more time to prepare for his return and the war would have been shortened and all those lives would have been spared.

Instead he'd made a stand that altered his mother's final protection. The spell had merged with his magical core and his life force had been used to power the spell that had blasted Voldemort into nothingness. He'd only wanted to protect the world in the same manner his parents had tried to protect him and he thought his actions would protect the world for years to come. He'd not counted on Voldemort ever returning from the grave to resume the war he'd left behind and to do so with more fury than before. He'd only given them a few years to prepare before his protections had failed them. Now Voldemort was back, stronger than ever made dangerous and deadly with rage fueled magics.

Galen was unaware of the guilt Harry still held to. Harry blamed himself for what had happened, for the fact that Voldemort now thought himself invincible and unstoppable, for the fact that others had suffered and died for his mistake. He'd never told Galen any of this, not wanting to distract him from his tasks. Now that Voldemort had struck a direct blow against Galen, Harry felt that failure even more deeply than before.

Galen did not...no he could not understand what Harry been through or even what he was going through now.

Galen, meanwhile, sat stiff in the front seat of the dark muggle car. He was as still as the rocks that made up the fence along the stretch of road Severus had picked for the first leg of their journey. His pale face was expressionless and his eyes, once a vibrant purple, were dull and lifeless.

_"He may as well be a statue for all the life he shows," _Severus thought to himself as he turned his eyes from the boy back to the road.

Severus was unsure how exactly to proceed with the child and he felt a steely anger in his heart that was reserved for the man who'd destroyed Galen's peaceful life. Maybe it was time for him to rejoin his fellow witches and wizards in battle at last. He couldn't allow this madness to go on. Hadn't he once risked everything for their cause, even his own life countless times? Once he would have done anything, gone anywhere to fight for the cause of freedom, even though he'd had to do so in secret. After Lily died the cause was all he had left that connected him to her. Now the spirit of her son was calling him back to war. Could he, in all honesty, deny that call any longer? He had to do something.

His eyes wandered over to Galen again and he sighed. He'd been charged with bringing the young man to Dumbledore and to guide his further training though it seemed to him that Galen was already well used to dueling and his unusual circumstances made his spellcasting both powerful and unique. Was there even anything he could teach the young man as far as magic went? Certainly the boy needed more instruction in tactics but beyond that what did he need to be taught? In his mind's eye he saw the brief duel between Galen and Dark Lord. He saw again the two wands Galen had been using and he wondered about them.

"How does it work?" he asked. He couldn't very well teach the boy if he knew nothing about how the Soul Bond worked.

Galen started and swiveled his head to look at Severus in surprise. He blinked a couple of times as if clearing his head and shrugged. Severus waited calmly for his reply.

"How does what work, sir?" he asked quietly.

"You and Harry...the Soul Bond."

Again Galen shrugged. "Our magics are merged. I'm the Sword and he's the Shield, which means that I concentrate on the offensive magics while he handles defensive although we can switch and have been trained in both types."

"And you and he merge?" Severus couldn't help the curiosity that laced his voice. He'd only ever read about Soul Merges and had never seen one before.

"Yes, but it's not as simple as it sounds," he paused a moment to gather his thoughts. "It takes a lot of power to merge and the more closely merged we are the more power it takes. Our combined magics fuel the merger and are in turn fueled by it."

"How long have you known about the Soul Bond?"

"Only since my sixteenth birthday. My...my parents hadn't wanted me to know until they were sure I could understand what it meant. I've always felt there was something different about me when I was growing up. The others on the estate knew of course...My parents wanted me to have a normal childhood I guess..." his eyes filled with tears but he blinked them away.

Severus remained silent for a few minutes and waited for Galen to continue. When he did not they sat in silence and continued the drive toward a nearby safehouse.

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The next several days passed in much the same way. They rose early, often before the sun painted the skies with gold and pink light, and departed from whatever safehouse they had hidden in for the night and continued their journey, moving ever northward toward their final destination. As they headed toward Hogwarts with as much speed as they dared, Severus decided he would stop at his own house where he and Galen could rest in safety for awhile. Both of them were weary and Galen had grown silent and introspective in the last few days. It was there that he hoped to recommence Galen and Harry's training for a few weeks before making the final push to Hogwarts and the scant magical protection the old castle would provide.

The road before them was narrow and twisty with holly bushes that lined it on either side. There were thick woods beyond those bushes, a mixture of pine and ash, that stretched out for several feet on either side of the road before open fields reappeared. The road was devoid of any human presence expect for themselves, though local farmers often frequented the road with their tractors and occasionally horses. There was also a fair sized village some miles ahead that Severus intended to stop at for tea before continuing on to his place.

Severus drove slowly, both to keep from taking the curves to fast and to make it possible for him to stop or slow down further should they happen across one of the farmers. The day had been unusually warm for the end of November so they rode with the windows rolled down in the hopes of catching a breeze. Not many birds were still around, most having already migrated southward but the lack of any noises in the forest apart from their engine had put Severus on edge as has the faint feeling that he should find shelter was soon as possible. He had no logically reason for the feeling except for a vague sense of wrongness on the air.

Harry was likewise tense. If anyone knew the direction they intended to travel or had been following them on the more active roads this would be a perfect place to lay an ambush. Without saying anything to Galen he raised a protective shield around him and waited.

_"I don't like this at all," _Harry's voice echoed in Galen's mind and for the first time since his parents had been killed Galen was actually listening to the spirit.

"I don't like it either," he said quietly. "It's too quiet."

"What?" Severus was only half-way concentrating on the car's other occupant. His concentration was on the curve ahead.

"Harry says it's too quiet out there," Galen found that he was whispering as if by doing so they might remain undetected by whatever was making them all edgy.

Severus nodded sharply and handed Galen a piece of paper. The was an address scrawled there in black ink and nothing else. Galen looked at it confused.

"That is the address for my manor house. Memorize it and then destroy the paper."

Galen did as he was told. When both he and Harry were positive that they knew the address he set the parchment burning with a silent spell.

"If we are attacked I want you to apparate out of here as fast as you can. My manor is located near the ruins of an ancient castle. I think you might know the place. It's very near to Godric's Hallow, which I believe was your first home, Galen."

"We remember the place, sir"

"Good. I want you to apparate there and then head south. There is a hedgerow there, a wild tangle of wild roses and berries though there appears to be no house. You should be able to see the house now. You'll be safe there and I will come after you as soon as I can."

Galen nodded, understanding that Snape was going to give them time to escape should become necessary. He loosened his two wands and continued to look out of the window at the passing woods.

_"I'll protect you, Galen," _Harry's voice sounded hard and it had an edge to it that was never there before.

_"I don't blame you for what happened, Harry. It was my fault not yours," _he thought back at his mentor and friend.

_"I blame myself, Galen. If I hadn't even been there then maybe..."_

Galen cut him off before he could start wallowing in self-recrimination. _"If you hadn't been there then MAYBE none of it would have happened. You don't know for sure what would have happened."_

_"But..."_

_"There are no buts, Harry. If you weren't here then there would be no hope for us at all. You and I are the only chance the wizarding world has to defeat Voldemort."_

Harry was silent for several minutes and Galen turned his attention back to the woods and bushes outside his window.

_"Thank you, Galen," _Harry's words were soft but Galen felt the guilt Harry was feeling lessen a bit and he smiled slightly.

_"You're welcome, Harry."_

They traveled down the road in tense silence for several miles before coming at last to the village that Snape planned to stop for tea and a break in.

A curl of black smoke was the only warning they had before they drove into the middle of a war zone.

The entire village before them had been put to the torch. The buildings were now burnt out hulks with no walls standing and there were several small hot spots amid the ruins that they could see from the car Severus stopped the car just outside the smoldering village and stared at the remains of it's once prosperous businesses and homes. His face was pale and his eyes wide.

"Damn!" the word carried several emotions at once, though most noticeable was anger.

Galen stared at the smoldering ruins and shivered as a coldness seemed to seep into his bones. This was what war was. This was what he was going into. This would be the danger he would have to face. His parent's face swam in front of him, even as the burnt out village began to blur in front of him. For a moment he was back at Ashgrove, facing Death Eaters and dueling one on one with the Dark Lord. He realised for the first time that he was scared

_"Death Eaters!" _Harry's voice was cold and there was an edge to it as well that snapped Galen temporarily out of his fear.

_"Are they still here do you think?"_ Galen had drawn both his wands and was scanning the area for enemies, pushing his fear into a small box in the back of his mind to be examined later.

Harry stretched out his magical senses a few feet in every direction but sensed nothing of the evil that would indicate that the Death Eaters or Voldemort were still nearby.

_I don't think so," _he said cautiously.

Severus moved the car forward into the ruins. He would have like to have taken another route entirely but there were no other roads in the area and the car was not built for going off road. Instead he drove slowly through the ruins only wanting to get as far from them as possible without drawing undue attention to themselves. Galen sat in tense silence next to him, his eyes scanning the area for survivors or enemies.

_"My God."_

They reached the town square and the sight that met their eyes was one that made even Severus's stomach churn despite the fact that he has seen things a bad or worse in his time at the Dark Lord's side. None of it had prepared he for the grizzly sight that met his eyes.

Several of the villagers had made a last stand in the square and they had all died there. The Death Eaters had not been content to leave them where they had fallen though. They had taken the leaders heads and put them on pikes and had scrawled messages on the once pristine white walls of the only building left standing in their victims' blood. They were dire warnings that all who continued to stand against them would meet the same fate if they were lucky.

Galen's face drained of what little color it had and his stomach rebelled, causing him to quickly open the car door and sick up until he had nothing left in his stomach. He quickly shut the door after though as the smell of decaying flash overwhelmed him. He felt sick and angry.

"I have to do something. I can't allow this to go on. All those people..."

"We shall do something," Severus opened the car window that he had closed before they had driven into the ruins and pointed his wand at the remains that littered the square, caring little that someone might sense the magical working. "But first...Incendio! May your souls the peace you deserved on earth."

They drove on.

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They arrived at Severus's manor without further incident and as they entered the protective wards Severus felt the tension in his shoulders ease somewhat. They were safe now. He continued to drive down a dirt path that would take them to the house that would be temporary home to Galen until Severus felt it was safe to resume their journey. The attack on the village had made him more weary of traveling any further by Muggle conveyance as well as magical ways so they would be staying here for some time, at least until he could contact Dumbledore and have him release the wards on Hogwarts long enough for them to apparate in directly. It was not commonly done but Severus had decided it would be far safer to do so rather than risking Galen's life any further. They needed him to make it to Dumbledore alive.

Galen looked around him with interest though his thoughts were still on the village they had left behind. Compared to the attack on that unnamed village, the one on Ashgrove had been small. Most of the town had still been standing and most of the villagers had survived the encounter even though they had made a stand as well. Still the images of what they had found in the town square were burned forever into his mind and now, along with the anger that was still smoldering just below the surface of his thoughts, he felt the first stirrings of fear and doubt.

His enemies, indeed the enemies of most of the wizarding and muggle worlds, were strong and totally without mercy. They killed on the slightest whim and left nothing but destruction in their wake. How could he, a mere boy of sixteen autumns, ever hope to defeat one such as Voldemort. Galen knew that his magic was strong, especially since he and Harry's magic was combined but Voldemort had one thing they lacked: Experience. Voldemort had had years to perfect his skills in the Dark Arts and his mad followers, while they were not as skilled as their master, still had far more experience in battle than he did. How could he possibly stand against them with any hope of victory?

_"Everyone has their hopes pinned on me but what chance to I have to defeat a man many years my senior and who's magic is at least as strong as my own?" _Galen felt he was getting in way over his head and he suddenly felt the weight of the pressure he was under as he had never felt it before. _"What if I fail? What if, despite all my training to prepare me for this, I'm not ready?"_

These thoughts repeated themselves in his mind and he spent his first night at Severus's manor unable to sleep.


End file.
